Kitchen

A public library association is incorporated at North Toronto, becoming a free public library in 1910. The Town of North Toronto provides operating funds and supplies a room for the library on the second floor of its town hall (Langley, Langley & Burke, 1882) on Yonge Street at the northwest corner of Montgomery Avenue.

1912

The library is relocated to a rented storefront at 2239 Yonge Street, east side, between Broadway and Erskine avenues. The Town of North Toronto is annexed to the City of Toronto, 15 December. In its final year of operation, the North Toronto Public Library has total receipts of $1,877 and expenditures of $1,875 including $734.59 for rent, heat and lighting and $297 on salaries. (Alfred P. Frohns, a local watchmaker and jeweller, is the librarian). The library has 3,000 books, which the 813 members (of 6,000 residents) borrow 13,307 times.

1913

The assets of the town's library are transferred to the Toronto Public Library Board as of 1 May. Toronto Public Library renovates the rented premises at 2239 Yonge Street, which reopens in June as its Northern Branch. By 1915, the building is renumbered to 2435 Yonge Street. The library remained at this location until December 16, 1916.

1917

Northern Branch is relocated to rented premises at 2 Albertus Avenue, at the northwest corner of Yonge Street, 12 January. The Young Men's Christian Association had used the building from 1914.

1922

Toronto Public Library Board pays $33,000 to the Eglinton Presbyterian Church for its former church (1909) at 14 St. Clements Avenue, northwest corner of Yonge Street, with the sale completed on 15 November. The Albertus Avenue location is closed on 16 December.

1923

Northern Branch opens at the new location, renovated for library purposes, 15 January.

1954

Northern Branch is renamed St. Clements Branch, 9 June, reflecting that it is no longer Toronto Public Library's most northern branch, since the opening of the George H. Locke Memorial Branch on 5 January 1949.

1966

Toronto Public Library plans to build three district libraries, beginning in the Eglinton and Yonge area by 1972.

1968

Toronto Public Library plans to construct a 24-story office block at the northwest corner of Yonge and Orchard View Boulevard. The first two floors will be for library purposes and the rest will be rented.

1971

With the prohibitive cost of land fronting Yonge Street, the Toronto Public Library Board starts to purchase properties in the central portion of the Yonge, Duplex, Orchard View and Helendale block. By 1973, a site of 5,931 square metres (63,900 square feet) had been assembled, with a frontage of 68.5 metres (225 feet) on Orchard View Boulevard and 69.4 metres (228 feet) on Helendale Avenue.

1974

Construction starts, 15 March.

1975

St. Clements Branch is closed, 29 November. Its staff and collections became part of the new Northern District Library, which opens on Monday, 15 December. Northern District is the Toronto Public Library's first district branch, and the first library in Metropolitan Toronto to have an automated circulation system. The old St. Clements Branch is turned over to the City of Toronto. Northern District Library opened 15 December. Pentland & Baker, Architects. TPL's Film Department is relocated to Northern District with the closure of the Learning Resources Centre at Forest Hill Branch.

1980

After more than a year of discussion, the Toronto Public Library Board agrees on 3 September to support, in principle, the construction of non profit housing primarily for seniors above the Northern District Library by the Stanley Knowles Housing Cooperative through its agent, the Canadian Labour Development Foundation, the sale of air rights being contingent on community support for the development. The cooperative is named for Stanley Knowles (1908-1997), a longtime Canadian parliamentarian, in honour of his commitment to social and economic rights for senior citizens.

1981

Board approves the overall design concept of the proposed housing project over 40 Orchard View Blvd; assents to the extension of the contract between the Tsow/Pollard partnership and the Stanley Knowles Housing Cooperative so that the architects may proceed to the design phase of the project and authorizes the Stanley Knowles Housing Cooperative to proceed with the application for an amendment to the Official Plan and rezoning for this project, 4 February.

1983

TPL Board approves on 16 March the lease between it and the Stanley Knowles Housing Cooperative Inc, for the lease of the air rights above, and certain areas within, the library buildings at 40 Orchard View Boulevard, for a period of 50 years. In return for a net rent of $772,500, paid in advance, the Board agrees to allow the Cooperative to erect a non-profit 103 unit apartment building in the leased air rights, in accordance with the Site By-Law, which provides for predominately senior citizen housing. Construction starts in March. The building is dedicated with Stanley Knowles in attendance, 16 July 1983.

1984

Stanley Knowles Housing Cooperative is officially opened, 26 May.

2007

New hours, 8 January. Hours open per week increased from 60.5 to 65.5.